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Comment by legulere | Hacker News Reader

> If you can really build an effective ultrasound system that people want to buy for significantly less than the currently available price when you've no expertise in the field, then why hasn't someone else with vast experience in the field gone and done exactly that?

If you just made a new effective ultrasound system that passes the FDA, why would you sell it for a lower price when you also can make more money?

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> If you just made a new effective ultrasound system that passes the FDA, why would you sell it for a lower price when you also can make more money?

Because you have an ideological desire to make ultrasound available in the developing world.

EDIT: There are a number of large, wealthy, organisations that have this desire - to improve the quality and availability of medical stuff in the developing world.

They have enough clout (and money) to bring a cheaper device in.

If it was below a certain threshold of personal investment I totally would (not saying I'd release something useless or dangerous carelessly out of hubris). I would love more accessible non invasive monitoring tools. I personnally suffered from nasty yet transient issues, that vanished enough by the time I went to my MD but were recurring for monthes.

I don't buy the money argument, price is not cost. I'm fairly convinced that the medical market is inflated at every level, ending on a premium. Ultrasonic devices may be as complex as he says, the dude is a reference. But I've just seen firefighters portable EKG monitor that they say cost a fortune, and it's mostly crap. Very bad cell reception, couldn't send data to the doctor. Not as sophisticated as an US echographer, just 7 probes, a LCD in a sturdy/friendly case; still pricey.

I'd bet a few dollars that any electronic company today can make something affordable, with better connectivity. It's just that the market allow for such prices.

You would sell it for a lower price to gain more customers than competition.

Medical equipment is more or less a fixed market unless you are going to sell to developing nations and even then the cost of the machine might very well not be the factor.

Hospitals, clinics and medical staff as well as the infrastructure required to support the machines are your limiting factor.

With portable devices that can hook into a laptop or a tablet it's not much of an issue but still there will be a hard limit for the market and it's considerably lower than you would think.

You also need to understand that the lifespan of some of these machines can be decades so in effect if you make it too cheap you either have to build in planned obsolescence or you'll sell yourself out of the market.

You're assuming the existing customers are price sensitive.

Not necessarily. There is a certain optimal point of price and demand. It's entirely possible that the limited supply due to all the barriers to entry allows even a range of competitors to price their products well above their own costs or the minimal costs in their industry.

It's just not true that multiple competitors have to collude to keep prices well above the perceived minimum costs. Or that collusion is a conscious process, either.

Because there are multiple competitors in the field, and you are a new entry. In order to be accepted as an unknown in a quality and results conscious market, you either have to be way better, way cheaper, or some combination of those.

If you are an established player, then you can sell for slightly less and get market share from your competitor. But in a competitive market, he is also smart and makes the system cheaper, then undercuts you, and on it goes until price reaches equilibrium at a much lower price point.

If you are in a monopoly position, then you can extract a premium profit until either the govt stops you with anti-trust, or a competitor appears who wants some of that profit. If you listen to everyone on this thread, ultrasound systems are easy to make so jump right in!

Ultrasound is an incredibly competitive market with multiple large players, each of whom has high quality technical teams and they compete for market share.

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